creative reboot at book riot live

I’m on temporary long-form writing hiatus – and it’s driving me crazy. The longest pieces I’m writing are what you see here, and I don’t count this as being quite the same as working on a novel. I’m taking a course through UC Berkeley’s Extension Program this semester on social media, so I am sitting out NaNoWriMo and just watching with envy as I follow the updates.

“Writing What You Don’t Know” Panel

The second best thing though for November was getting to attend this past weekend’s Book Riot Live, the first conference offered by the team behind Book Riot. It was two wonderful days filled with a variety of panelists (authors, editors, agents, cover art illustrators, publicists – all things book!) discussing a variety of topics ranging from manuscript to publication to what leads to banned books. I walked away feeling super inspired to pick back up the starting framework of the next novel I’m writing and to see that through to finish hopefully by midyear 2016.

I can’t begin to summarize all of the great things I walked away with in one post, but I did want to pull together some of my favorites out of the things I jotted down.

It’s very common for people who aren’t in your book to think they are. – Margaret Atwood

Writing about the future can allow you to be more creative. No one can tell you you’re wrong. – Margaret Atwood

It’s important to know what you’re good at writing about, and what’s not your strength. Margaret Atwood shared for her, that means no dragons and no other worlds.

Becoming good at characterization is to become good at empathy. – N. K. Jemisin

Instead of calling people out, you want to call people in. – Jason Reynolds

It’s a great compliment when someone is trying to ban your book because it means someone is reading it. – Laurie Halse Anderson

[On your writing] It should be about conversations, not lectures. – Laurie Halse Anderson

It’s important to highlight sensory elements in your writing. Sharing those details helps to build that world for your reader. – Alisha Rai